Montreal 5 - Tampa Bay 2
December 27, 2007
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The Canadiens came out looking like the team they did in October, shrugging off their last game loss to Dallas and storming over the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on the road tonight. Montreal opened the scoring with a 2-on-1 goal from Lapierre followed by a goal following a strong rush from Latendresse; both first period goals were at even strength. Christobal Huet wasn’t challenged often in the first but he held the game scoreless when the Lightning opened the game by virtually controlling the first six minutes.
Alex Kovalev scored a goal only ten seconds into the second period to put the Habs up 3-0 and Tampa coach John Tortorella immediately pulled Johan Holmqvist from the Lightning net and replaced him with Finnish up-and-comer Karri Ramo; the pull was Holmquist’s fourth in his last five starts. Ramo looked good as he guided the Lightning out of the second period, making several key saves to keep the score 3-0.
The Canadiens continued their offensive rampage in the third with Andrei Markov netting a powerplay goal from the blue line with Andrei Kostitsyn following up with another 2-on-1 goal only 24 seconds later to put Montreal up 5-0. Vinny Prospal ruined Huet’s shutout bid about halfway through the third and Jan Hlavac netted another with one minute remaining the further cut the lead but Montreal walked out of the building with a seemingly easy win.
GAME NOTES: While he wasn’t tested often Huet looked strong throughout the game, continuing the raise the question of who the number one goalie in Montreal really is. Lapierre’s goal tonight was his first of the season. With losses for many mid-range Eastern Conference contenders over the past couple of days Montreal has moved up to the 4th spot.
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